5.  The applicant was born in 1977 and lives in Łuków.
6.  On 9 August 1996 the applicant commenced his compulsory military service, which lasted until 20 October 1997. During his service he suffered a serious spinal injury.  A series of medical tests carried out by military doctors showed that the applicant’s disability had been caused by an ailment which he had had during his childhood. Difficult tasks which he had had to carry out during his military service had made his condition worse.
7.  On 31 May 2000 the applicant requested the Social Security Authority (ZUS) to grant him a disability pension (renta inwalidzka).  By a decision of 20 September 2000 the Social Security Authority refused. By a judgment of 13 March 2002 the Siedlce Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s appeal. The applicant appealed.
8.  By an order of 11 April 2002 the court, having regard to certain formal shortcomings in the applicant’s appeal, requested him to rectify them. By a decision of 23 April 2002 the court rejected the appeal, finding that he had failed to indicate the grounds for his appeal despite having been summoned to do so.  On 7 May 2002 the applicant lodged an interlocutory appeal against the decision, which was dismissed on 8 July 2002.
9.  In January 1998 the applicant lodged an action with the Olsztyn Regional Court. He requested compensation for physical injuries and suffering which he had sustained during his military service and requested the court to grant him a permanent disability pension, having regard to the fact that he was now unfit to work. On 18 February 1998 the court exempted the applicant from court fees. In November 1998 a legal‑aid lawyer was assigned to the case to represent the applicant.
10.  A first series of medical tests carried out by experts confirmed the findings of the military doctors and the conclusions reached in the reports prepared for the first set of the proceedings. The applicant refused to participate in a second series of medical tests, ordered at the defendant’s request.
11.  The proceedings were subsequently stayed at the applicant’s request on 15 May 2000. They were resumed on 25 November 2002.
12.  By a judgment of 25 April 2003 the Olsztyn Regional Court dismissed the applicant’s action. The applicant appealed.
13.  By a judgment of 10 September 2003 the Appellate Court upheld the first-instance judgment. This judgment was served on the applicant’s legal- aid lawyer on 9 October 2003.
14.  By a letter of 15 October 2003 the legal-aid lawyer informed the applicant that he had not found any legal grounds on which to prepare a cassation appeal. The letter read:
“I hereby inform you that on 9 October I was served with a written grounds for the judgment of the Białystok Court of Appeal of 10 September 2003.
Having examined the written reasons for the judgment, I am obliged to state that there are no legal grounds on which to prepare a cassation appeal.
Cassation appeal is an extraordinary legal remedy which can be lodged where the court erred in the application of substantive or procedural law, if such an error could have affected the outcome of the case. In your case no such errors are disclosed.
In addition, for a cassation appeal to be accepted for examination by the Supreme Court, it is necessary to demonstrate that legal issues justifying such examination obtain in the case. In your case it is the establishment of the facts by the courts which is in issue.
Having regard thereto, I am forwarding to you a copy of the judgment as I cannot be of any further assistance in your case.”
15.  On an unspecified later date the applicant requested the court to assign a new lawyer to the case for the purposes of lodging a cassation appeal. The court refused the request by a decision of 6 November 2003 which read:
“The court ... decided to dismiss the plaintiff’s request for a legal-aid lawyer to be assigned to the case.”
The decision did not contain reasons as under the relevant provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure no appeal was available against it and, in consequence, the court was not obliged to prepare any (see paragraphs 19 – 21 below).